The Sisters of Saint Joseph in Kenya say Thank You for Your Help in Building Their ConventTuesday, January 21, 2014

Success Story

"We do not have the words to thank you.” This was how religious Sisters in Kenya expressed their gratitude after ACN benefactors enabled them to build a new convent in Kenya.

The Sisters of Saint Joseph are an African congregation founded in 1938 on the island of Zanzibar, which is part of Tanzania. The congregation has some 260 Sisters today, working in many different fields. They support priests in their pastoral work, give religious instruction, teach in schools and provide medical care for the sick.

The Sisters are also active in the Archdiocese of Mombasa, in the south of Kenya, and among other places in the small town of Maungu, roughly 95 miles west of Mombasa. The people in this region often have to contend with droughts, and when the rains do come, they often last only a few days, which is too little to guarantee a successful harvest. As a result, there is a shortage not only of water, but often of food as well. Since the town lies on a major highway, many truck drivers pass through. Often they will pay young local girls a few cents and sexually abuse them.

The Sisters have their hands full, helping the people. Until recently, in fact, this meant an exhausting, 10 mile bicycle journey just to get to Maungu. Meanwhile, the people there had been asking the Sisters to set up a house in Mangau as well, even giving them a piece of land.

Thanks to our generous benefactors, we were able to give them $27,300 so that they could build a convent. Now there are four Sisters living here, all devoting themselves to the service of God and their fellow men. They wrote to say thank you: “If you only knew what it means to us to have a convent in Maungu! We pray for you every day!"

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